Prefabricated zirconia Post; an esthetic option as foundation restoration for ceramic crowns: an in vivo study

Abstract

Background: The choice of restoring endodontically treated anterior teeth is guided by strength and esthetics. The ultimate shade of post and core definitely affects the translucent ceramic crown systems, which is a matter of concern. The colour of the underlying core influences the definitive esthetic result especially for a highly translucent ceramic crown with a thickness of less than 1.6 mm. In case of a thin gingival biotype the cast posts may also create root discoloration and a blue-gray effect. The gold posts, which is considered as gold standard, exhibit a dull bluish hue and give an unnatural appearance. The utilization of a dissimilar material for post and core buildup often results in failure due to separation between the post and core. When the core and the foundation restoration is of ceramic, post based on ceramic material would ensure better success. The prefabricated zirconia posts are one of the novel alternatives to gold post. Purpose: The mechanical advantage together with the aesthetic gain over the conventional materials has made zirconia the state of art option available for usage in the present day. Materials and Methods: There are only few relative studies, which have reported on aesthetic, clinical survival and patient reported events of endodontically treated teeth with zirconia post. Hence this clinical study is undertaken to evaluate the acceptability of prefabricated zirconia post used in endodontically treated teeth especially in the anterior region with the foundation restoration being all ceramic restorations. Results: Zirconia post is a more aesthetic alternative to fiber post especially in patients with gummy smile and thin biotype with all-ceramic crown to optimize the esthetic effect at the root and maintaining an adequate level of strength. Conclusion: In esthetic zone prefabricated zirconia post is a more simple and viable option to conventional post giving a monoblock (one piece) design. Keywords: Ceramic post, Esthetic post,